The Multiverse
by clandestine.masquerade
Summary: On one side, Olivia Dunham is searching for Peter. On the other, Olivia Newton is too. Who will find him first and will they alter the future of the multiverse? P/O, Newton/Alterlivia
1. The Freakshow We're Running

Malleable Reality

There

6:29 pm

Olivia paced her office, drilling her eyes into the map board. Pins and string were crossing haphazardly, with no known reason. There had to be a pattern, though; there always was. In fact, she knew there was. Olivia, at least the one in the other reality, knew the secret. It was just patience and persistance for her to find it now. If the other her could, she definitely could find the answer. It was all thinking and time.

She thumbed her ring, twirling it around her finger. It was strangely large on her finger now, possibly a product of too much worry. With the world riding on the shoulders of you and your closest collegues, it was unavoidable. Still, she wore it. She had to. With Tom gone on a 'business trip', she had been lonely, but she was faithful and loved him. She wouldn't remove the ring for anything or anyone.

Sighing, she leaned against the edge of her desk, crossing her ankles. She placed her hands to either side of her hips, balancing. Her wrost struck the edge of her sign, making it sting. She turned to glare at it, but her expression soon softened. Olivia Newton. She loved her new name.

Olivia and Tom had only been married a month before he was tasked by Bell to take over control of operations on the other side. She missed him, and wasn't used to not having him with her on every case. He had been her partner before her lover and eventual husband, or as close as a partner as she'd get. She was a FBI agent, and him a Massive Dynamic liaison to the FBI. They were common since 1987, when the takeover began.

The takeover happened slowly and inevitably. The first signs were in the ever expanding Massive Dynamic, with William Bell and Walter Bishop as the leaders. They had silently expanded their expertise beyond science and into politics. Within a few short years, the majority of the government had been implanted with various high-positioned officers from Massive Dynamic. Ever agency was now commanded indirectly by Bell and Bishop from afar. It had been viewed as corrupt for a few years by some, but it didn't take long for people to begin to see the benefits. Olivia, for one, appreciated the business run government. Based on what little she'd seen of the other side, her reality was better off.

A knock at the door and the gust of air conditioning from the hallway. Olivia looked up swiftly from her ring, smiling at her employee, Charlie. He had been working at the FBI for a while now, but she was more talented and quickly promoted above him. He worked with her on most of her cases now that Tom was gone, though. He had a good head on his shoulders, and was a good friend to her. His hand snapped out, handing her a file.

She nodded, setting it behind her on the desk. He closed the door behind him, shrugging his shoulders as if to loosen a cramp, rolling his neck. "So, Olive. Where do we stand."

She stepped forward to the map. "Well, I've seen a couple of patterns, but they all seem to lead back to the first..."

"And that would be?"

"You see all of these pins?" She gestured toward the board, running her fingers over the little lines they created. "They expand from one central point."

He examined the board, his brow knitting as he considered the map. "Old Boston?"

She nodded, gnawing her lip as she sorted through the possibilities. Old Boston had once been a well populated city, however, a 7 magnitude earthquake had destroyed it in the 90's. It had been evacuated because of the massive damage and dangerous factors, including flooding from burst pipelines, gas and oil lakes that had pooled, and the risk of unstable buildings. The damage had been too much to save it. Now, nobody lived there, but still, they had detected Pattern activity in the area. It made no sense.

Charlie nodded, stroking his chin in thought. "Maybe it's time you take this to Bell."

"You know he's too busy."

"And you know he knows the answer."

She sighed, clenching her teeth. Bell had always assigned her as well as near all of his other employees tasks to rediscover what he already knew, somehow. It was supposed to be a test of loyalty, faith, and passion, but to Olivia it was more like mind games. "I can't go to him."

"Why?" Charlie already knew it was because she was too stubborn, but he felt it necessary to push the topic. She blew out a gust of air, running fingers through her brown hair. "It's not like he can revoke your licence again, not now. It's too close."

It was indeed. She knew very well, as did everyone in her department, that Tom had been tracking down the target in the other world - Bishop's son. He was important, very important, to everything they had been working for. He meant either the end of both worlds, or the destruction of one. If they got him in time - and they would if she knew her husband at all - they could save their reality.

"Olive?"

"I need some time to consider this a bit more. Just give me a bit - I'll read up on Old Boston before I give up."

"It's a deal."

She nodded, turning her head back to the board as he closed the door behind him.

~})i({~

Here

6:37 pm

Peter snapped open the plastic case, staring at the cd blankly. Peter from Boston. It was a sweet, innocent name, and completely incorrect. He wasn't from anywhere, least of all Boston. He was still bitter and upset from his father and Olivia betraying him. It burned and stung. He tried to ignore it.

With a restless sigh, he placed the disk in the cheap cd player he'd picked up from the gas station on the way to the motel. He could here the swishing of it as the player warmed itself up.

_I could sleep  
I could sleep  
I could sleep  
I could sleep_

He closed his eyes, concerntrating on the music and nothing else. The motel room was still and lifeless; comforting.

_When I lived alone  
Is there a ghost in my house?  
When I lived alone  
Is there a ghost in my house?  
My house..._

He felt a shift in the room, and jolted upright.

Thomas Jerome Newton was standing before him, and behind him, his father. His real father.


	2. End of Both Worlds

Here

4:12 am

Typically when he was tied up in a warehouse, he didn't bother to scream because it didn't really matter that much. Big Eddie was all about big threats and big guns, but he knew that once he killed somebody, they couldn't get his money back. Now, however, he was bound and gagged, at the mercy of a creep he's been hunting down for months, and his father. His real father, not the fake one he thought was his father. There was a huge difference.

The other thing that was making him strain at the gag was the insignificant detail of what they were planning to do, which from what he collect was:

1. Drag him to the other universe, potentially causing his body to rip to shreds depending on how they hit it.

2. Probably experiment on him. He figured this, because Walter, no matter which version, likes a nice test subject.

3. Torture in the conventional sense. He still thinks it's 'cruel and unusual', either way.

4. Kill him.

The agenda at this point didn't seem that promising.

Around him, they were placing the equipment in a perfectly calculated equilateral triangle, aligning each using simple math and computers. Peter studyed them as they did this. Perhaps he could find a way to get back if they managed to get him to the other side. He was smart enough that if he knew the right buttons to press, he could do the rest in minutes.

He was distracted. He couldn't focus, even on things that could save him later. He was concerned that somehow Olivia would know and try to find him. He was considering the frightening possibility she may go after him and get herself killed. He couldn't let her die over him. He wasn't worth it.

She was the innocent one, the one that had never even done something illegal in her life. She was a cop, she'd see stuff, but she didn't have the blemished record he did. She was young, like him, and she had already lost so much. She deserved to live, feel no guilt, and not be potentially destroyed because he had been stupid enough to get caught.

So, even though he was praying for his life, he hoped to God that Olivia wouldn't try to save him, knowing that nobody else could.

~})i({~

There

4:58 am

"Sir, I've prepared the containment cell as you ordered," Olivia announced to William Bell, her voice never waivering. She had adopted an emotionless shield for her face. She couldn't let anything leak through, not when Bell was around. He would use it to his own advantage later if he knew how scared she was.

Bell nodded, "Good. Your husband and the Bishops will be here soon. Go wait outside."

She nodded, leaving the room to watch the events behind a sheet of glass. Finally, her husband was coming back to her. She had waited so long for this moment, and it had finally come. He had captured Peter Bishop and was bringing him back for Massive Dynamic's purposes. This whole marathon they had been running would come to and end soon.

Through the glass, she saw Bell turn to look at her, nodding minutely. She understood his gesture when a faint click sounded behind her. She turned to the hazy screen, looking into the face of Nina Sharp, of the other universe. "Mrs. Newton, what a pleasure."

Olivia tilted her head to great Nina. She had long known about Nina and her bonds to the company on the other side, as well as the information she could get from her. She also knew Nina had connections to her alternate self. Every once in a while, she would recieve updates on what she was up to, so she could always be ahead. After all, it was her job. She suspected this was one of those times. It was just before the pivitol moment, when she needed the information the most. "Ms. Sharp, I haven't heard from you in a while."

"Yes, well, it's been a bit hectic on this side. I assume you are awaiting your husband?"

Olivia nodded. She needed to cut to the chase. "Do you have information?"

Nina showed her teeth, though it could hardly be called a smile. She tucked a lock of her perfectly assembled hair behind her eye, making Olivia wait. Nina knew the curiousity Olivia had for her alternate self. "Yes, of course. I suppose you remember that Olivia is getting closer to solving the case, but Bishop left her team?" Again, Olivia nodded. "He jetted off to Washington, where your husband and Mr. Secretary captured him." This illicited a tiny grin from Olivia. "However, there are some details that I have failed to tell you before."

"I can't imagine you hiding anything from me, Ms. Sharp," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Honestly, you have been so upfront with me before.

"Yes, well, you know I have limited information I can reveal," Nina answered, removing her gloves slowly. "As you know, Peter was a close partner to Dunham, and a close friend. But you must know, lately there has been... feelings coming between them. I suppose you can use this to our advantage?"

Olivia tossed her hair. "Of course."

"Excellent. I also might want to add that he's quite the charmer. You might want to watch out for that."

Rolling her eyes, Olivia stuck up her hand, displaying her ring clearly as she waved goodbye. "Thank you for that, Ms. Sharp." Without another word, Nina's image faded from the screen and the device clicked off.

Olivia now had an advantage. She would use herself against Bishop. She had his vulnerability in the palm of her hand.

~})i({~

In Limbo

5:19 am

The sensation of travelling between universes was remarkably unpleasant. First, there was the peculiar sensation of your atoms being torn apart one by one. Then, there was a squeezing that made it impossible to breath. Peter could swear his heart stopped along with his bloodflow. Lastly, there was the intense rush of emotions and memories one would often associate with the words "his life flashed before his eyes". Overall, it was unenjoyable personified.

The sensations were of course intensified when he managed to open his eyes, which was another bad idea. What he saw was indescribeable. He saw what could only be described as a flashing of all of his hopes and dreams and some images that he couldn't place. He saw himself, buying a new car, a Porsche. There he was again, tugging at the purple collar of a tux in front of a mirror. That quickly faded, replaced by a beach with white sand, and he saw himself watching Olivia climb onto a jet ski. Later, it was a hospital, and a nurse grinning at him. It flashed through the lab, where Walter was working on another case, a new assistant next to him. Astrid was there, too, but she seemed to be in charge. She turned around as he and Olivia walked through the door. This faded into another scene; a familiar house on the beach from his childhood, with a fresh coat of paint. Like pages of a book someone was flipping through, he watched the scenes flip past. It made him nauscious; he had such a predictable mind. It was all the American dream; typical. It gave him a longing sensation anyway.

Overwhelming. The entire crossing over was overwhelming in every sense of the word. His throat burned as the content of his stomach rose.

~})i({~

There

5:19 am

Olivia watched through the window as the air beyond rippled, much like the horizon on heated concert, with people and images from the other side. She had seen it before, but it didn't stop her from being terrified and curious. The room was distorting, all of it, with only Bell being untouched. She was sure if she was in there, she would be nothing but an unrecognizable jumble of atoms by now. Her stomach flipped as three figures began to materialize through the pulsing air.

Withing moments, her husband was standing there beside Bishop, a young man tied between them, bound by ropes. She looked between them, relief enveloping her. Mr. Secretary was back and safe, with the prize, her husband, albiet looking rather sick, alongside him. Then she looked to Peter Bishop.

She had to admit she was curious. In the other universe, her alternate had a deep emotional connection to him. She studied him, and could feel glimpses of emotions. He was determined, strong, and struggling between the two men. His forhead was sweating, wetting his hair and seeping into his gag. He had bright blue eyes that held hostility and intelligence in them. She could also see through the ropes that he was tall, slender but muscular. Overall, he reminded her of a man she could fall in love with. It made her laugh, as she looked to Tom through the glass sheet.

They quickly spoke, before opening the door and dragging the man from the room and down the hall to his holding cell. She slipped out of the door, following them. They reached the metal door at the end of the hall, scanning to unlock it. As they worked the complicated code, young Bishop scanned the hallway, searching for any clues to his escape. She watched him closely as his eyes settled on her, widening. He strained at his bonds, his voice muffled by the gag.

There was a chime as the door slid open. They dragged him in, pushing him into a chair and fastening him with chains to the cell. He squirmed against it forceably, his muscles flexing with the effort. She stared as his desperately searched her eyes, looking for the woman he knew in her. Her stomach twisted with sympathy, and she turned away to go.

They released his gag as she stepped back into the lighted corridor. She paused, listening to his strangled gasps. "Liv! Liv, please look at me - OLIVIA! OLIV -" SHe whipped around, clenching her teeth. He stomach was tight. She had never felt so sick to her stomach as he repeated her name, straining toward her like he was completely insane. She had no doubts that he was.

"Shut up. I am not your Olivia."

The other men filed out the door. Tom took her waist and hand, leading her away. She twisted to watch as the door slid closed, masking the sound of his voice.

"Olive, I've missed you so much."

Olivia turned to her husband, grasping his other hand and stroking his fingers, a smile spreading across her face. "Tom," she sighed, leaning into a hug.

"I'm so sorry -"

"No," she swallowed, blinking away the tears. "It's fine, really." The truth was, it wasn't fine. She couldn't get the haunted calls of Peter Bishop from her head.

~})i({~

Here

8:41 pm

Olivia Dunham's first instinct when she pulled her SUV into the damp parking lot of that Washington state motel was that something was wrong. A police vehicle was already parked, and an officer was speaking to the manager just inside the door. She knew this is where he had been staying. This had Peter Bishop written all over it.

She slammed her door, swinging on her leather jacket, the one she had worn with him out to drinks. She had brought it on purpose; partly because it reminded her of why she was hunting him down, and partly because she knew he would recognize it. Anyway, it was cold out and she needed a little comfort.

As she pushed the rusting door open to the lobby, she immediately pulled her badge, flashing it at the officer, whose eyes lit up in recognition.

"You must be here because of Bishop." The woman nodded her blonde head at the manager, and he nodded, slipping out the door into the rain.

The knot that had been building in her throat tightened. Her eyes stung a bit. "Yeah, whats wrong?"

"I came to check up on 'em, and he was gone. The door was busted open, and there was a struggle. I already have a suspect -"

"May I ask who?"

"Some guy Bishop went on about, said he was tryin' to find 'em. Newton."

"As in Thomas Jerome Newton?"

The woman's eyes narrowed a bit, and she nodded. "I suppose you were working on the case with him."

"And I suppose you were too?"

The woman nodded, sticking out her hand. "Mathis."

Olivia cracked a tiny smile at the woman, shaking her hand. "Dunham."

"I know."

She had to chuckle at that. "Did he talk about me?"

"Almost as much as I talk about Furguson."

"Your partner?"

"You could say that."

Olivia nodded, not knowing the implications of the conversation. She really at this point needed to see the room and search for anything that may tell her anything. However, she was certain she already knew where he was; she also knew there was no way in hell she could get there without finding a soft spot or the triangle Newton set up for the tranportation. "Could I see the room?" Mathis nodded, stepping across the lobby to the hall. She stopped in front of a room with no door, with a police line secured across the enterance.

Olivia stepped over the tape, her eyes scanning the room. It was a typical motel; cheap mattress, aged tv, stains on the carpet. It reminded her of where she and John used to meet. She shivered as she reached the bed. There was a dent from where his head had laid in the pillow. A cd player laid, broken, on the floor at her feet. Nothing. She looked at the table by the bed. The clock wasn't set, blinking at twelve o'clock. His phone, battery laying beside it, was resting within arms reach from where he had been sleeping. Even his shoes were still resting at the foot of the bed. He didn't have anything else there but a tooth brush in the bathroom and an empty whiskey bottle by the tv.

She swallowed. He had been taken.


End file.
